CDPHP chairman becomes CEO

Dr. John D. Bennett Jr., chairman of the board at Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan, has been named the Albany-based health insurer’s new president and chief executive officer.

Bennett will shift from chairman to CEO on July 1, the company announced today.

Dr. William J. Cromie, current president and chief executive, said in March he will be stepping down due to undisclosed health reasons.

“Our board of directors has made a great selection,” said Cromie. “Dr. Bennett’s experience as our board chairman, management in his own medical practice, and more than two decades as a local cardiologist allow him to understand the needs of the plan and those of the local physician community.”

Bennett was named chairman of the CDPHP board in September 2003. Prior to that, he had served as vice chairman; he has been a member of the CDPHP board since 1996.

Bennett has been a practicing cardiologist in the Albany area since 1983. He currently practices with Albany Associates in Cardiology, a division of Prime Care Physicians PLLC, and is chief of cardiology at Albany Memorial Hospital.

In November 2007, Bennett became interim chief executive of Prime Care. Since then, he has focused on reorganizing the structure and governance of the medical practice.